Lumos & Associates is managing the construction of improvements to the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony’s water and sewer system. One of the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony’s housing areas is located on Reservation and Colony Road in Reno. This area is bounded by I-580 to the east, Mill Street to the south, Glendale to the north and Golden Avenue to the west. The Colony purchases water from the Truckee Meadows Water Authority through two master meters, and it delivers its sewage to the City of Reno with a connection at Glendale Ave and Mill Street. Everything within the colony proper is managed and maintained by the tribes Public Works Department. The system was originally constructed in the mid-60’s and is now, after 50 years of use, begun to show signs of failure. Also, the fire flows were not adequate for the level of development that has occurred since it was installed. Lumos has worked with the Tribe on a number of projects in and around Reno, and with our experience in rehabilitating utility systems, the Tribe selected Lumos to help them with their system.

After completing a Preliminary Engineering Report, Lumos assisted the tribe in obtaining financing for the project. Lumos also completed the design and developed the bidding documents. The project went out to bid, and Sierra Nevada Construction Inc. was the successful bidder.

The project is now under construction and progressing nicely. As with any underground project, you never know what you’re going to run into, and we were not exempt. We have encountered a few utilities that were not supposed to be there and as a result, we had to complete some fairly innovative, on the fly engineering to make sure all the new pieces could be installed correctly and operated as intended.

The project is planned to be completed in early December. As a result, the Tribe will have a more reliable utility system capable of meeting its life and safety needs for the foreseeable future.

Lumos & Associates has offices in Carson City, Reno, Fallon, and Tahoe, each with a full range of engineering and surveying services. Lumos' Carson City, Reno, and Fallon offices have fully equipped materials testing laboratories.

Lumos & Associates began with a large emphasis in municipal engineering and public works engineering. Today, Lumos boasts major industrial, commercial and residential development clients and key personnel whose expertise include government process, infrastructure design, planning, civil engineering, structural engineering and construction management.